This is not the same topic as the other Zelda Wii U Thread. That one discusses an online or MMO component, while this one is more general.

I think it'll probably stick to the Wiimotion Plus rather than using the gamepad, as that really worked well in Skyward Sword. If they had to use the gamepad, it'd be for the rumored Link to the Past remake/sequel, or a Four Swords game. So as for traditional 3D Zelda games like Ocarina of Time or Skyward Sword, what would you expect from the next iteration of that?

I'm thinking that because the console is much more powerful, Hyrule Field is going to be huge. It'll be like the Great Sea in Wind Waker, except you'll be riding a horse instead of a boat. It could even have islands like Wind Waker, as long as they can think of content to warrant exploring. Heart Pieces and Rupees are the obvious incentive to explore, but who knows, maybe you could find rare upgrade parts for your weapons by solving puzzles in Hyrule Field. Also, random boss battles. Anyone remember the multi-eyed squid thing from Wind Waker that would suck you down into a whirlpool and you had to shoot it's eyes with the cannon in order to avoid being warped around? Imagine Gohmas, Giant Stalfoes, Big Poes, Giant Dodongos, Dragons (like Skyrim lol), or if Shadow Ganon showed up periodically and just challenged you out in the open. You'd obviously get a big rupee bonus or a heart piece (if it was the first time), but you could always choose to run away.

How about DLC that adds new dungeons? It might be worth going through just to get the Heart Container at the end, or maybe it'd be more like an expansion pack that adds new story content.

I think we can expect an art style that is more suited to showing high detail than Skyward Sword. Also great long draw distances so you can see grand pieces of scenery like Hyrule Castle ( I found it quite the pain that bigger objects were blurred out in Skyward Sword when they got farther away).

Maybe we could expect some nice additions to the physics as well, like great oceans of grass blowing in the wind. Or a thin layer of destructible rock on everything in the fire temple. You might be able to dig with a shovel and excavate a spot in Hyrule Field looking for buried treasure. Or there could be some interesting fluid dynamics puzzles in the Water Temple. Will enemies ragdoll before they explode? Or maybe Stalfoes could explode into bone fragments that react to the world.

Castle Town would also be much larger, and Link could take on odd jobs from hundreds of residents for small amounts of Rupees. Minigames would abound from the Commercial area, more so than we've seen from any other Zelda game. Perhaps there will be some kind of Guru that gives you rewards for reliving previous boss battles, or a monster trainer that throws you into the arena to prove your manliness against teams of various creatures you encounter and various other human challengers.

The Temples themselves might be several times longer, having several minibosses or even requiring you to backtrack or visit other temples in order to progress. It'd be kind of annoying, but interesting if you got midway through the forest temple only to find out you need items from the Fire and Water Temples to go further (same for both of them requiring the item you've gotten thus far from the Forest Temple).

but in terms of thing that will actually happen, I'm assuming and hoping it will have the awesome parts of Skyward Sword (the general gameplay and stuff in Zelda games that is always awesome) except
1. The beginning will be really good
2. A better overworld
3. No stupid, personalityless robot who solves puzzles for you and reminds you of idiotic things.
4. Also some cool additions to the gameplay as usual

Bioshock is 10 years old. Let's play through its horrific environment and see why its so beloved!LeT's PlAy BIOSHOCK < Link to LP

Online multiplayer. Nah just kidding...but honestly, I'm hoping for TP-styled graphics this time. Nothing against cel-shading or anything. But would love to see that Zelda Wii U demo as an actual game.

I posted this in the other Zelda Wii U "online or not" thread but I will post it up here and see what you guys think though I am pretty sure it will get the usual Nintendolife "No way" response like the Nintendo Cafe and 3DS Circle Pad Pro rumors received

“It’s a 4-year development cycle with a new console, new technology, new engine etc. It’ll end up being the most expensive game they’ve made to date. It’s a huge investment for them [Nintendo] in money and anpower, this is Rockstar/GTA territory”.

The new Wii U Zelda will feature “about the same amount of dungeons as previous Zelda games, but these will be vastly bigger in scope and will be totally different from each other. Some dungeons are so big they’re broken up in 3 parts and will literally take hours to complete”.

“Online multiplayer was never on the drawing board, they’re sticking with the tried and tested Zelda formula. It’ll have some online features like Miiverse and some sort of system where players can leave hints and help each other in the dungeons. That’s about it”.

"“...everything in the game is built around the controller and its unique abilities. Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential. Some of this stuff is still in early stages of development, but they’ve already implemented enough to show just what’s possible with the new controller. "

@Ryno That's from an anonymous source. So... who knows if that's real or not.

I like using the motion plus, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Nintendo use the gamepad as a controller for Zelda Wii U. They'll likely use it just to show off how it can be used well, just like they did with Skyward Sword's motion plus controls.

If they do use the motion plus, I want them to use it more. Like be able to add a twist while rolling the bomb, just like in Wii Sports. And measure how fast you swing the remote to determine how far you throw the bomb. Also measure speed for swinging the sword.

@Ryno and @DudeSean
That description sounds like a Link to the Past remake/sequel that was rumored earlier. Notice that no part of that other than the budget hints at this being a 3D Zelda game? A top-down perspective like a Link to the Past or Four Swords Adventure would definitely be the best way to show off the gamepad. If they were planning on showing off the gamepad for the next Zelda game, they wouldn't have enhanced the remake of Ocarina of Time and tipped their hand of every trick they could possibly do.

Motion Plus all the way. Also, I think the designer said at one point that Motion Plus was the controller of choice for all future Zelda titles, and he couldn't imagine going back to a traditional controller after introducing motion.

I posted this in the other Zelda Wii U "online or not" thread but I will post it up here and see what you guys think though I am pretty sure it will get the usual Nintendolife "No way" response like the Nintendo Cafe and 3DS Circle Pad Pro rumors received

“It’s a 4-year development cycle with a new console, new technology, new engine etc. It’ll end up being the most expensive game they’ve made to date. It’s a huge investment for them [Nintendo] in money and anpower, this is Rockstar/GTA territory”.

The new Wii U Zelda will feature “about the same amount of dungeons as previous Zelda games, but these will be vastly bigger in scope and will be totally different from each other. Some dungeons are so big they’re broken up in 3 parts and will literally take hours to complete”.

“Online multiplayer was never on the drawing board, they’re sticking with the tried and tested Zelda formula. It’ll have some online features like Miiverse and some sort of system where players can leave hints and help each other in the dungeons. That’s about it”.

"“...everything in the game is built around the controller and its unique abilities. Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential. Some of this stuff is still in early stages of development, but they’ve already implemented enough to show just what’s possible with the new controller. "

I want a HD version of how OoT3D worked but with a handful of touchscreen based weapons and puzzles. I want a game that has dungeons as open as Skyward Sword but with an open world connecting it all more like OoT and TP. If they do that while making it seem new and interesting then I'm happy. I couldn't ask for more.

I don't get why people have a problem with the controls of Skyward Sword/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks. Those games controlled beautifully and the controls were far from what I'd describe as a gimmick. I think they should just ignore these people and just go for it. No doubt that if they did a Zelda pretty much identical to the way OoT3D controlled there'd be someone complaining about how cumbersome using the tablet to control inventory is.........

If you want "classic Zelda" download them on the VC and quit complaining about how the new games use the new "gimmicky" features

I don't get why people have a problem with the controls of Skyward Sword/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks. Those games controlled beautifully and the controls were far from what I'd describe as a gimmick. I think they should just ignore these people and just go for it. No doubt that if they did a Zelda pretty much identical to the way OoT3D controlled there'd be someone complaining about how cumbersome using the tablet to control inventory is.........

If you want "classic Zelda" download them on the VC and quit complaining about how the new games use the new "gimmicky" features

Don't worry,Nintendo will absolutely ignore me and stick the Wii U equivalent of waggle into the Wii U Zelda game. And, because it's by Nintendo, no one would dare call it out for that.

First, i'd like new items in Link's hands, creating new and original gameplay mechanics, unseen kind of puzzles, and awesome final boss fights... WW and TP had some original items, and i enjoyed SS despite the lack of any real original gameplay in it, but it's time to surprise us once again...

Second, i'd like a complete transformation of the dungeon formula (small key, small boss, new item, big key, big boss): just make something else, and why not, transform the whole Hyrule world into one very, very big dungeon... create an adventure less linear, and (even) more open to discoveries: finding multiple items could allow multiple paths and ways to play, and not always the same routine we're used to... Zelda fans have played nearly all the games in the serie, so once again, it would be a good time to twist everything, and suprise us...

Third, visually, i have nothing against a cel-shaded look: i could only dream of a WW style, but with less simplistic textures, and a shiny HD look on top of an amazing art style...

Fourth, about the story: once again, i'd like something else... MM, WW and TP were quite original, and not OoT clones, but yeah, SS was kind of... nice, but full of "déjà-vu"... i just hope Aonuma's team will bring something else to the table... an example: why not an Hyrule in a distant future, centuries after the last episode in any supposed timeline?

And finally, stick to the Wii remote + for the main controls, but add some new gameplay mechanics thanks to the Gamepad: reveal hidden zones lookin' thru it, draw some elements to solve puzzles or transform the landscapes, etc, etc... this could be one of the best way to surprise us, once again, so i hope they use their imagination to really make something new, and epic...

And, because it's by Nintendo, no one would dare call it out for that.

If it wouldn't work well, I don't see why people would not call them out on it. Loads of reviewers complained about the aim and swimming controls in Skyward Sword, but those are still minor complaints so they wont drag down a overall score.

I fear that they may put in some of those touch-screen based puzzles like in the DS games, which are a nice idea in theory (and I'm not totally against drawing based gameplay as I'm the biggest fan of Pac-Pix), but the problem with these more organic, naturalistic control schemes is that they're far too vague and ambiguous and therefore hugely inconsistent. Do you remember that puzzle in Phantom Hourglass where you had to draw a triforce shape on a door to unlock it? Well I don't know about others, but I must have drawn about a thousand different triforces, every single size, every single permutation, starting the line from every different point and it just would not register. Eventually, I must have drawn the exact shape and size of triforce that they were thinking of because it did at last register... There was a similar one in Spirit Tracks that caused similar frustration and that was an even simpler shape. So I'm not really looking forward to that. I also hope no-one tells Aonuma that the pad has a microphone otherwise he'll probably have us blowing and yelling into it...

And I also hope that no-one is listening to the people I've seen online saying "You could use the Wii remote as the sword and the Wii U pad as the shield!" While I'm happy to know that these people aren't game designers, I wouldn't put it past Aonuma these days to do something that gimmicky (I mean "innovative"...)

And, because it's by Nintendo, no one would dare call it out for that.

If it wouldn't work well, I don't see why people would not call them out on it. Loads of reviewers complained about the aim and swimming controls in Skyward Sword, but those are still minor complaints so they wont drag down a overall score.

Same with the flute gameplay in Spirit Tracks for DS.

Eh, a gimmick that works well is still a gimmick. Skyward Sword would have been exactly the same game with conventional buttons.

I want Nintendo to take into consideration what everybody wants from a WiiU Zelda (high detail graphics, huge open world gameplay, dark and serious story...), decide to make it the complete opposite (Stylised graphics, unique control scheme...), yet still make it one of the most awesome games of the generation.